In his malevolent character, the devil is sometimes thought of as the equivalent of Death, or even its personification. This confusion is particularly apparent in the tale generally known as The Smith and the Devil or The Smith and Death (Type 330).

This story has been told in so many forms, both literary and oral, that a clear history of it would be very difficult to trace. Motifs are added or omitted with the greatest freedom, though a central core serves to maintain its identity. The following generalized statement of the tale contains most of the incidents which occur with any frequency. The smith has made a contract with the devil that in return for becoming a master-smith he is to belong to the devil after a certain time. In some way, occasionally from the Lord or Saint Peter, who is wandering on the earth, he receives three objects: a tree and a bench that cause people to stick to them, and a knapsack that draws persons into it. In the course of his adventures he causes the devil (or Death) to stick to the tree or the bench. Sometimes Death is put in the knapsack and pounded on the anvil until he gives up his claim on the smith. At last the smith goes to hell, but he is not admitted, since the devil has lost power over him. He therefore goes to heaven, but he is unknown there and is refused admittance. But he gets permission to throw his knapsack inside and the knapsack pulls him after it.

Though the versions are confused and the motifs freely interchanged, there is a tendency for the adventures with the Lord and Saint Peter to appear in connection with Death sticking to the tree (Type 330A). The magic knapsack is naturally found where the smith enters into heaven by a trick (Type 330B). In the course of his experiences with the Lord and Saint Peter, the [p. 46] story may tell of how he unsuccessfully attempts to imitate a miracle by which the Lord rejuvenates an old woman or shoes a horse by cutting off his leg and later putting it back (Type 753).

The idea of Death sticking to the tree or to a stool can be traced back to antiquity, where it is found in both Greek and Hebrew originals. The story with most of the motifs mentioned above appeared in literary form in Italian as early as 1525 and became the subject of a very popular French chapbook, "Histoire nouvelle et divertissante du bonhomme Misère, par le sieur de La Rivière" (Rouen, 1719). This was often reprinted and has been the basis of many literary treatments. The most striking part of the story, Death on the Tree, was recently used as the central motif of the cinema production "On Borrowed Time." [33]

The story has had considerable popularity as an oral tale, whether or not the tradition may eventually go back to a written form. It is known literally all over Europe and as far east as the Caucasus and Palestine. It is found in Iceland, Scotland, Spain, and Italy, but its greatest popularity is in central and northern Europe—Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland. At least 25 versions are found in Russia.

An adequate study of the history of this tale remains to be made. Even a superficial glance at the material indicates that such a study, while extremely exacting on the scholar who undertakes it, would show many interesting results. Such problems as the looseness or stability of a folktale type, and the mutual relations of written and oral versions would be ever present. One problem, however, the scholar would escape: the story does not seem to have been carried and transplanted into remote parts of the earth.

Also the subject of frequent literary handlings from at least as early as the year 1300 is the story of Godfather Death (Type 332). The tale begins with the well-known motif of the search for a godfather. For this office a poor man chooses Death, since he considers him more just than either God or the Devil. As godfather, Death gives to him (or sometimes to his son) the power of seeing Death standing at the head or the foot of a sick bed, and thus forecasting the progress of sickness. By using this power, the man becomes a famous doctor. When the man himself sees Death approaching he escapes by a trick. In some versions he turns the bed around and thus confuses Death; in others he asks for time to finish the Lord's Prayer, but never gets to the end. [34] At last, however, Death gets his revenge. In some way he tricks the man into finishing the prayer, or else he takes the man to the lower world, where all the living are represented by life-lights. When he comes to the man's own light, he puts it out. [35] The history and distribution of this tale [p. 47] is almost identical with the one we have just discussed, The Smith and Death. Though it appears frequently in medieval literature and has continued to be a subject for artistic and literary treatments, [36] it is widely. known by tellers of oral folktales in all parts of Europe and as far afield as Iceland and Palestine. Its greatest popularity is in the Baltic countries, Scandinavia, and Germany. It is also well established in the folklore of France, Spain, and Italy. The interrelation of the oral and the written versions is not easy to untangle.

While we are discussing stories concerning Death mention should be made of a literary tale, "Death's Messengers" (Type 335), popular with such collectors of exempla and moralistic tales as Bromyard, Johannes Pauli, and Hans Sachs, and having its ultimate origins in Buddhistic literature. Death promises a man to give him warning of his approach. He gives the man a blow, blindness, white hairs, etc. In spite of these messengers of Death, the man fails to understand the signs and lives happily on. This tale cannot be said to have found a place in folklore, since it has been so rarely reported by collectors.

Finally, before leaving those stories which concern supernatural adversaries, there remains the tale of The Spirit in the Bottle (Type 331) or The Bottle Imp. Though its treatment in the Arabian Nights is undoubtedly most familiar to the literary world, it has been frequently told in every century since the Middle Ages, and the experiences have been attributed variously to such worthies as Paracelsus, Theophrastus, or Virgil. Oral versions are only occasionally encountered and these are likely to be closely related to some literary retelling. The essential point in all versions is that a man frees an evil spirit from a bottle and in return receives some magic power. Finally he succeeds in tricking the spirit back into the bottle.

What kind of spirit is meant in this tale of the bottle is never clearly defined. He is apparently a demon of some kind, but is seldom or never to be identified with the devil. This indeterminate quality has been observed also in many of the other stories of supernatural adversaries which we have now considered. In the next group of tales, where we shall encounter a group of extraordinary helpers, a similar confusion in the exact nature of the helpers will be observed.